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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is leading two
important panel discussions at the “Prosecutors Against Gun Violence"
national meeting today in Atlanta.

The group was formed to address the issue of gun
violence in the United States as concerns mount over shootings and mass
killings. Members include attorneys from several major metropolitan
jurisdictions including Miami, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston and Milwaukee. The non-partisan
coalition will focus on issues such as reducing gang violence, weapons
trafficking, the connection between domestic violence and gun violence, and the
link between mental illness and gun violence.

State Attorney Fernandez Rundle will head two panels,
one focused on among other things, the trafficking of firearms and the
enhancements that punish individuals for committing crimes while using a
firearm. The second panel will focus on interventions in preventing mass
shooting by persons who have mental health issues at which she will lead the
discussion and highlight Miami Dade’s successful police Crisis Intervention
Training (CIT).

“Gun violence plagues every jurisdiction in
America,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle. This Summit is an
effort to take ideas that have worked in different parts of the country and by
sharing experiences and techniques, spread that success around. In this way, we
can make a real difference.”

The
Miami-Dade State Attorney Office and the U.S. Immigration and
Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations(HSI) announce the arrest of Three
Hungarian nationals Gabor Acs, Viktor Berki and Andras Janos Vass as principles
in a criminal enterprise which lured young gay Hungarian men to the United
States with the promise of quick, easy and legal cash. Instead, the targeted young men, ages 20-22,
found themselves prostituting and performing sex acts in front of a webcam to
enrich Acs, Berki, and Vass.

“The overall attractiveness of our South
Florida area is equally attractive to sex traffickers,” stated State Attorney
Katherine Fernandez Rundle. “These individuals
may have come from a different country to exploit the vulnerable but they used
the same basic trafficker tools of fear and intimidation to make their
profits. HSI’s law enforcement
partnership with Dade prosecutors should send all traffickers a loud and clear
message that we will not tolerate their actions here.”

“This case serves as a reminder that
sex trafficking is not limited to any particular race, gender, age or sexual
orientation,” said Alysa D. Erichs, special agent in charge of HSI Miami. “I
commend the State Attorney’s Office for their support of HSI’s aggressive
campaign to stop human trafficking happening right here in our community.”

Homeland Security Investigations began
investigating this situation on October 26, 2013, when the HSI Tip Line
received information that three males in Miami Beach were possible victims of
human trafficking. Originally landing in
New York City and engaging in prostitution there, the three Hungarian nationals
were relocated to Miami Beach by Acs, Berki, and Vass. While on Miami Beach, these young men
prostituted themselves and performed for as many as 18-20 hours a day. All payments went to Acs, Berki and
Vass.

Once interviewed, the victims revealed
that their traffickers used various techniques to keep them enslaved, including
isolating them from others, withholding their travel and identification
documents, and using financial manipulation to keep them in constant debt. Specifically, the victims indicated that they
were rarely allowed to leave their shared apartment and they were told it was because they could not speak English and were not familiar with the area. Acs, Berki and Vass also took the victims’
identification documents and locked them in a safe. All communication with family members in
Hungary was closely monitored by Acs and Berki.
The three men indicated that they had been threatened, psychologically
intimidated and had experienced levels of violence at the hands of Acs, Berki,
and Vass. All three indicated fear for the safety of their families in Hungary
since Berki claimed to have been a police officer in Hungary and maintained
connections there. Additionally, Acs,
Berki, and Vass had their family information readily available from the
documents needed to come to America

31 year old GABOR ACS,
28 year old VIKTOR BERKI and 24 year old ANDRAS JANOS VASS aka JANOS ANDRAS VASS
are each being charged with:

The Miami-Dade State Attorney Office and the Miami-Dade
Police Department announce the
arrest of James Brady and Samuel Jean for their roles in tampering with
the absentee ballots of Ms. Robkevia Scott, Ms. Betty Brockington, Taquesha
Robinson and Mr. Willie James Snead during the November 2013 City of
Homestead Mayoral and City Council Elections.

“Criminal
activities which aim to undermine our voting process should offend every
citizen of Dade County”, commented State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
“The actions of my prosecutors and the Miami-Dade Police Department to
effectively charge those who try to steal any citizen’s vote show our deep
commitment to clean and honest elections. This lengthy investigation aimed to
bring all the facts and all of the evidence into the light of day for a sound
prosecution.”

An investigation was initiated by the Miami-Dade Police Public
Corruption Bureau/ Public Corruption Unit after Ms. Robkevia Scott, a resident
of the City of Homestead, filed a complaint with the Miami-Dade County
Commission on Ethics. In that complaint she alleged that James Brady and
Samuel Jean, workers/volunteers for Homestead Mayoral Campaign Candidate Mark
Bell, fraudulently deprived Ms. Scott and three of her relatives of their right
to vote for the candidates of their choice.

A series of conversations started on October 14, 2013 with Mark Bell
campaign worker/volunteer Samuel Jean inquiring about the status of their four
(4) absent ballots and making suggestions as to which candidates to
support. On October 16, 2013, Mr. Jean and Mark Bell campaign worker/volunteer Mr. James
Brady returned to the Homestead residence,
met with all four Homestead residents and offered to assist them in
filling out their absentee ballots.
According to Betty Brockington Mr. Jean and Mr. Brady filled out the
absentee ballots for the family, after getting their input as to which
candidates each person wanted to vote for and then attempted to have the ballot
envelopes signed. Three of four family members did sign the ballots without reviewing the contents. 22-year-old Robkevia Scott, refused to sign
the absentee ballot without reviewing the actual cast votes and took her vote
back.

Only then did Ms. Scott notice that Mr. Jean and Mr. James Brady had
chosen the candidates the family had specifically said it opposed in the Nov. 5
election: mayoral

candidate Mark Bell and council candidate Norman Hodge Jr. The men left with the 3 ballots and Ms. Scott
then contacted the authorities. Upon
getting a search warrant for the ballots, it was learned that the 3 ballots had
been submitted and the same votes (for Mark Bell and Norman Hodge Jr.) had been indicated. Samuel Jean and James Brady denied filling
out the absentee ballots but fingerprint evidence contradicted those claims.

With the recent return
of Samuel Jean from Haiti, both
Samuel Jean and James Brady are presently being charged with: